Henri, Robert (1865–1929). American painter, teacher, and writer, a major figure in combating conservative attitudes in American art in the early 20th century. He was born Robert Henry Cozad in Cincinnati but changed his name after his father killed a man in self-defence in 1882 and spent several years as a fugitive before being cleared of murder. From 1886 to 1888 he trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, under Thomas
Anshutz, who passed on the tradition of Thomas
Eakins, an artist Henri came to admire deeply. In 1888–91 he lived in Paris, studying mainly at the Académie Julian. After returning to Philadelphia he became the leader of a circle of young artists—
Glackens,
Luks,
Shinn,
Sloan—that later became the nucleus of The
Eight and the
Ashcan School. In 1895–7 and 1898–1900 he again lived in Paris, then in 1900 settled in New York. There he became an outstanding teacher, first at the New York School of Art, 1902–9, then at his own school, 1909–12, at the Modern School of the Ferrer Center (a radical educational establishment), 1911–18, and finally at the Art Students League, 1915–28.
The essence of Henri's teaching was that art should grow from life, not from theories. He said that he wanted his own paintings to be ‘as clear and as simple and sincere as is humanly possible', and he was a powerful force in turning young American painters away from academism to look at the rich subject-matter provided by modern urban life. In 1910 he was the prime mover behind the Exhibition of Independent Artists, the first large, unrestricted, no-jury exhibition in American art, and he was ‘regarded by many of his contemporaries as the most influential single force affecting the development of American art in the generation preceding the
Armory Show of 1913’ ( William Innes Homer,
Robert Henri and his Circle, 1969). Henri was open-minded about the new developments seen at the Armory Show (he often commented on
Braque,
Matisse, and
Picasso in his classes), but he was not interested in experiment for experiment's sake and his own work was little affected by it. His early work had been Impressionist, but in the 1890s he adopted a darker palette, with rapid slashing brushwork geared to creating a sense of vitality and immediacy. From 1909 his work became more colourful again. Apart from scenes of urban life, he painted many portraits, and also landscapes and seascapes (which have been rather neglected). He made frequent visits to Europe and found inspiration there for figure studies of picturesque characters—Irish peasants, gypsies, and so on.
Henri's paintings are now generally found dashing but rather superficial and they are regarded as much less important than his teaching and crusading. He wrote numerous articles on art and in 1923 published
The Art Spirit, a collection of his letters, lectures, and aphorisms, in which art is seen as an expression of love for life. It was highly successful and continues to be read. William Innes Homer comments that ‘It has had universal appeal because it addresses an audience on so many levels: as a painter's manual, a guide to aesthetic appreciation, a philosophy of art and life, and a spur to creative activity'.
